Founded in 1870 as a broadsheet called the Eastern Counties Daily Press, it changed its name to the Eastern Daily Press in 1872. It moved to the compact (tabloid) format in the mid-1990s. The paper is now owned and published by Archant, formerly known as Eastern Counties Newspapers Group.
It aims to represent the interests of the local population in the region in a non-partisan way with its mission statement being to 'champion a fair deal for the future prosperity of the region'. Despite its commitment to regional issues, the EDP covers national (and international) news and sport with the aim of being a substitute for a national paper.